After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A 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. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
