After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
