Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos 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 lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
