Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress 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 basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
