After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical 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 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage 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 beaded dress created 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 tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where no one falters.
