After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
