After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering 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 enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion 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 dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
