Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
