Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
