Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s 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, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
