Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined 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 tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage 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 rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
