Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
