Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive 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. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
