Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, 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 enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
