After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
