After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque 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 were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
