Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
