Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
