After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their 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 falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand 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 global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
