After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, 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 appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area 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. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
