After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
