After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed 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 explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” 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’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 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 underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
