After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
