After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed 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 significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase 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. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
