After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created 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 knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical 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. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
