After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
