Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod 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 inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
