After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece 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 basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
