Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, 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, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
