Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan 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 glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 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 underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.