After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
