Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, 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 sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
