After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told 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 waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like 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 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 cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
