Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished 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 private amount 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
