After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion 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 rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
