After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z 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 first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
