Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
