Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut 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 shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
