After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
