After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
