After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
