After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
