After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered 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 inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
