Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
