Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled 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 emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.