Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
