Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to 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 earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area 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. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
