After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
