Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
