Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s 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 apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents 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 glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
