After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
