Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.
