After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress 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. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
