Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. 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 camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central 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 currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
