Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
