After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied 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, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
