After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided 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 vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount 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 popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
