Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
