After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
