Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic 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 younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
