After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream 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 bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed 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 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.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
