Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut 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 shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
