Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although 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 promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
