Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
