Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
