After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
