Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered 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 adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer references in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity 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 universe where no one makes a mistake.
