After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one falters.
