Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
