After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan 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 named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something 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 rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
