After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
