After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage 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 bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
