Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
