After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to 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 crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
