After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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 series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
