Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
