Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
