Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled 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, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
