Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by 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 new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
