After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
