After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
