After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
