After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer 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 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
