Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic 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 created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now 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 bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple 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 fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
