Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
