After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé 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 newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
