Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted 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 references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked 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 gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
