Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut 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 sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
