After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where no one falters.
