After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
