Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion 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 backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
