Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.