After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer references in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
