After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.