After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, 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, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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 collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
