Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, 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 music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
