After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
