Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
