Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic 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 Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
