Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
