Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
