After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon 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 backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal 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 emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
