After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it 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 Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
