Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style 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 early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
