After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
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. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
