After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps 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 look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
