Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
