Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
