🔗 Share this article

Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

A Sultan of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Coveted Vintage Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 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 leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.