Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
