After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion 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 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
