After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted 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 knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
