After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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 collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
