After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it 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.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
