After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
