Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
