After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” 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 ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
