Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage 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 called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
