After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
