After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
