After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
