After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
