Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic 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 references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator 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, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made 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 tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
