Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
