After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
