After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
