Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
