Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
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 earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
