After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked 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, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 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 lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
