After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, 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 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
