Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
