After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform 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 working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.