After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance 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 told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
