After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time 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 encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.