After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent 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 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 series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
