After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
