After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels 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 green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
