Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
