After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where no one falters.
