Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer references in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
