After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
