After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer 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 significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
