Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
