After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created 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 grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
