After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs 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 rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
