After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
