Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
