Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya 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 similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-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 employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
