After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, 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 – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar 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 stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
