After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed 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 fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
