After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny 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 explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The 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. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
