After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 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 cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
