Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called 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 whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support 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 head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.