After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains 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 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 rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
