Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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 fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
