Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars 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 theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece 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 basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
