Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created 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 were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
