After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
