Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon 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 sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
