After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl 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 documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
