Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed 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 fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
