After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished 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 significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps 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 rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
