After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly 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 music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made 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, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
