Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
