After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter 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 crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her 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 underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
