After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
