Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator 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.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage 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. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
