After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
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 extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
