Following 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, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
