Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering 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 incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest 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 really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
