After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
