Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
