Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
