Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer 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, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support 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 moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
