After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered 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 leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
