Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
