Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where no one falters.
