After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
