Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where nobody falters.