After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
