Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
