After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
