Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
