Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
