After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
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. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
