Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks 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, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro 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 translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
