Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think 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 newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
