Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
