After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
