Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
