Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style 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 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
