Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
