Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
