Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
