Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting 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 tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
