After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star 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. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
