Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure 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 traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
