After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing 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 striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted 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 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
