Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed 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 new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult 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 translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
