Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
