After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
