Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, 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 sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where no one falters.
