After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
