After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal 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 whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
