Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s 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 apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 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 head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
