Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 hit among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
