After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
