After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion 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 longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
