Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
