Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
