After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography 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-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
