Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer references in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
