After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod 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 similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
