Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
