Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, 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 shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
