Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s 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 even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
