After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical 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 – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
