Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due 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 bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
