After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry 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 start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
