After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, 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, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made 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 undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
