After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan 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 glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area 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 made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
