After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
