Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
