After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
