Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
