After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture 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 latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
