After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times 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.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
