After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated 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, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches 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 rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
