After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s 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 apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
