After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, 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 glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
