After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
