After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan 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 glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in 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 basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
