After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
