After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer references in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
