After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed 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, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
