Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon 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 perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
