Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric 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 enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
