After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, 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, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress 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 moment so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
