Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon 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 sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
