Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical 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 – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic 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 a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
