After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
