Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
