Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter 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 latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
