After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent 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 significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
