Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
