After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine 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.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage 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 semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
