Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
