Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 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 underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
