After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic 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 embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine 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 Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
