After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to 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 bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 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 basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
