Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
