After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
