After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
