Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon 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 inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure 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 no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 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 underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
