After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, 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. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
