Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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 series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
