After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon 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 similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung 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 icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
