After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
