After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. 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 has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
