After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult 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 star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
