Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut 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 sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, 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 symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
