After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
