Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
