After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted 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 grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
