Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
