After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, 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 sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
