Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $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.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
