After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
