After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators 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 making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
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 designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. 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 inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
