After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable 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 staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
