After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
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 iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection 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 past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
