Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 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 even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
