After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
