After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
