Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion 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 glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded 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 favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
