Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
