After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 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 lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
