After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage 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 rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
