Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
