Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio 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 past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
