Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
