After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple 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 desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
