Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
