Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
