After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
