After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars 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 revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
