After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
