Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
