Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title 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 Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
