After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
