Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering 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 music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
