Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
