Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. 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 bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded 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 collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
