Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
