Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs 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. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
