Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
