After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic 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 called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
