Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded 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 vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 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 recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
