After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race 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 dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
