After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
