After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to 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, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
