After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. 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, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
