After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
