After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 explained to a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, 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 performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
