Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy 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 craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
