Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, 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 performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
