After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
