Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including 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 retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
