Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed 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 even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
