After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
