Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
