Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion 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 latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star 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. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
