After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where no one falters.
