After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
