Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
