Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
