After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive 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. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
