Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered 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 incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase 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 paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered 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 nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
