After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
