Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical 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.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made 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, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
