After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, 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, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
