Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains 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 steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
