After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
