After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
