After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
