After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production 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 dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute 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 similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
