Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made 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 designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
