After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
