After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
