After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
