Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
