After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
