After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed 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 classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
