Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny 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 stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
