Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist 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 feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
