Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed 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 at an awards show 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
