After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
