After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
