Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
