Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
