Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
