After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic 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 appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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 bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
