Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
