After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
