After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made 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 earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.