Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. 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 crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.
