After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
