After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon 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 tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former 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 covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
