After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
