Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished 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 tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
