Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
