After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished 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 tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where no one falters.
