After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered 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 adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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 series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story 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 rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric 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 lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
