Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: 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 civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
