Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used 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 younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
