Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered 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 inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung 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 docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
