After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
