Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 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.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created 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, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
