After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
