After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
