Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted 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 were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
