Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
