After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
