Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture 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 rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
