After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
