After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
