After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
