After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
