Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
