Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
