Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
