After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
