After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
