After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
