After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.