After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
