After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
