After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, 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 glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support 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 leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
