After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
