After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
