Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic 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 title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed 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 exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time 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 beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
