After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
