After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
