After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
