After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to 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 latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
