After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
