After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
