After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
