Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored 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. Months after, a singer paid an private amount 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 trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
