After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
