After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided 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 classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image 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, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one falters.
