After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic 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 emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
