After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
