After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
