Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to 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 latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
