Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms 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. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
