Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé 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 seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
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. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum 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 collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion 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 chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
