After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed 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 glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
