After a 31-year tenure on the iconic 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 declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
