After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
