After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
