After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, 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, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, 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 sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
