Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
