After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
