🔗 Share this article

Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

The Sultan of Sequins

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, 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 broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Classic Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 favorite among collectors.

“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar 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 staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.