Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 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 apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
