After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and 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 feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded 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 tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
