After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.