After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
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. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
