Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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, Sabrina Carpenter 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 a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
