After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
