Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
