Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion 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 latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
