Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon 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 glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
