After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance 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 gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
