Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut 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 named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern 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 actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
