After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by 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 crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
