Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
