Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering 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 attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
