After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount 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 series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.