After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
