Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit 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 researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
