After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to 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 ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
