After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut 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 glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s 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 apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase 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 recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
