Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator 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 sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
