Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute 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 created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
