After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress 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. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
