Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
