After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter 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 classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
