Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.