After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 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 lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.