After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs 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 are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
