Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars 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, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
