After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
