After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern 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 see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
