Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
