Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
