After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded 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.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
