After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
