After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view 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. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl 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 make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
