After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance 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 were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
