After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
