After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
