Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
