After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
