After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed 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 bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
