Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
