After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
