After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, 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 shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed 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 significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
