After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
