After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $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 think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor 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 fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
