After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
