After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
