Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
