Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger 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 star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
