Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
