After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
