Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded 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 bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
