Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are central 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 currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
