After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
