Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted 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 were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
