After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
