Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
