Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to 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 crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
