After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green 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. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
