🔗 Share this article

Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Musical 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 classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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 collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.