After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
