After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined 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 private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
