After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
