After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used 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 Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” 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 ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
