Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded 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 collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
