After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture 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 latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
