After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished 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 private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric 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 remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
