Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top 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 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
