Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created 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 knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress 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 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
