After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry 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 moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
