Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
