After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan 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 sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
