After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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 collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
