After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
