Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather 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 adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
