Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by 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, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
