Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro 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 Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
