Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators 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.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan 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 tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
