Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece 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 head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
