Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where no one falters.
