Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area 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 rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
