Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream 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. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
