After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, 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 think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
