Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut 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 tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
