After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon 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 perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress 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. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories 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 ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
