Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due 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 bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
