After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan 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 glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. 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, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
