Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry 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 working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
