After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
