After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
