After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
