Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic 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 embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms 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 made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
