Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
