After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
