After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed 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, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
