After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
