Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed 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 told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
