After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks 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 latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
