Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
