Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
