After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied 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, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
