🔗 Share this article

Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

A King of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 favorite among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.