After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
