Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
