After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering 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 adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
