After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
